Books - September 2022
Sep. 30th, 2022 04:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitOne of the things I realised this month that while having lists of books to read is good (it helps reduce TBR lists) it can limit what I'm reading, so I've occasionally branched out this month and borrowed books from the local library when they haven't made it onto any particular list.
Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles
This is Rev Richard Coles first whodunnit and I was curious to read it. As indeed were a number of other people, so I added my name to the reservation list and a couple of months later it reached me. Clearly, as a vicar, Coles knows what to expect in a parish church, which gives an authentic feel to the story. However, I hadn't realised that it was set around 1980 (I think), which made it feel rather dated. A pleasant story, but I won't rush to read another. [F18]
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
This was recommended in a blog post I was reading, so I picked up a copy when I went to collect my reservation for the above. I enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book, but felt that, like the pilgrimage, the story began to meander and introduce too many other characters. [F19]
The Siren's Song of Murder by Sarah Cauldwell
The third Hilary Tamar book. Having read the second in the series earlier in the year, I would repeat my comment that it was entertaining and amusing, but for me nothing more than a way to pass a pleasantish few hours. [C9]
Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards
I do like Martin Edwards collections of short stories for the British Library Crime Classics. But I don't find his own novels particularly entertaining. Supposedly set between the wars, like a conventional GAD novel, it felt rather out of time, rather than set properly in the time. This was another library book. [A9]
The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan
The latest Persis Wadia, set in 1951 in Bombay. Just out, I was the first to borrow this copy. Another fascinating look at the times, with references back to WWII, and a complicated, but satisfying, plot. By contrast to the Edwards book, I really felt myself in 1950s Bombay. [F20]
The Drowning Spool by Monica Ferris
Next in the Needlecraft series of cosy mysteries. I liked the plot and thought it well executed. And because I was reading rather than listening (as I had with the previous story) I was able to skip the descriptions which I wasn't interested in. [D9]
The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham
This had been sitting on my book shelf for two or three years so I decided I really should read it. I'm not a fan of Maugham inserting himself into his stories, so that essentially he becomes the fourth character. I found the three main characters all self-centred and had very little sympathy for any of them. [B9]
A Pin to See the Peepshow by F Tennyson Jesse
I managed to get a cheap copy of this month's Shedunnit book. I had assumed it was a traditional whodunnit in some form, but it's a Virago modern classic and therefore much more a novel exploring women's place in society than dealing with a crime. The end of the story is based on the Thompson-Bywater murder case, but a significant part of the book is the lead up. While the main character is portrayed as a victim of the system, which to an extent she is, her own actions are what brings her fate on her. [E9]
[Letters refer to which reading list each book belongs to - F is the 'all other' section.]
Murder Before Evensong by Richard Coles
This is Rev Richard Coles first whodunnit and I was curious to read it. As indeed were a number of other people, so I added my name to the reservation list and a couple of months later it reached me. Clearly, as a vicar, Coles knows what to expect in a parish church, which gives an authentic feel to the story. However, I hadn't realised that it was set around 1980 (I think), which made it feel rather dated. A pleasant story, but I won't rush to read another. [F18]
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
This was recommended in a blog post I was reading, so I picked up a copy when I went to collect my reservation for the above. I enjoyed the first two-thirds of the book, but felt that, like the pilgrimage, the story began to meander and introduce too many other characters. [F19]
The Siren's Song of Murder by Sarah Cauldwell
The third Hilary Tamar book. Having read the second in the series earlier in the year, I would repeat my comment that it was entertaining and amusing, but for me nothing more than a way to pass a pleasantish few hours. [C9]
Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards
I do like Martin Edwards collections of short stories for the British Library Crime Classics. But I don't find his own novels particularly entertaining. Supposedly set between the wars, like a conventional GAD novel, it felt rather out of time, rather than set properly in the time. This was another library book. [A9]
The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan
The latest Persis Wadia, set in 1951 in Bombay. Just out, I was the first to borrow this copy. Another fascinating look at the times, with references back to WWII, and a complicated, but satisfying, plot. By contrast to the Edwards book, I really felt myself in 1950s Bombay. [F20]
The Drowning Spool by Monica Ferris
Next in the Needlecraft series of cosy mysteries. I liked the plot and thought it well executed. And because I was reading rather than listening (as I had with the previous story) I was able to skip the descriptions which I wasn't interested in. [D9]
The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham
This had been sitting on my book shelf for two or three years so I decided I really should read it. I'm not a fan of Maugham inserting himself into his stories, so that essentially he becomes the fourth character. I found the three main characters all self-centred and had very little sympathy for any of them. [B9]
A Pin to See the Peepshow by F Tennyson Jesse
I managed to get a cheap copy of this month's Shedunnit book. I had assumed it was a traditional whodunnit in some form, but it's a Virago modern classic and therefore much more a novel exploring women's place in society than dealing with a crime. The end of the story is based on the Thompson-Bywater murder case, but a significant part of the book is the lead up. While the main character is portrayed as a victim of the system, which to an extent she is, her own actions are what brings her fate on her. [E9]
[Letters refer to which reading list each book belongs to - F is the 'all other' section.]
